Australia
February 11, 2013
Grain growers in the southern cropping region are being challenged by the emergence of a new wave of crop protection issues caused by pests, weeds and diseases.
To counter the emerging threats, a concerted research, development and extension effort is well underway to help growers and the broader grains industry manage the risks.
Grains Research and Development Corporation Senior Manager Plant Health, Dr Rohan Rainbow, says the GRDC is focused on increasing the intelligence available to growers and advisers on where these threats are occurring and providing systems and alerts to enable growers to manage these threats with improved identification, resistance status and timely controls.
Dr Rainbow said GRDC investment in research into the biology of emerging crop protection issues would help determine the best strategies for their control.
“By understanding crop protection threats more clearly, the GRDC and its stakeholders can focus on the most effective management approaches such as monitoring and surveillance for timely control, breeding, cultural management or chemical solutions,” Dr Rainbow said.
Dr Rainbow said that while the combined economic impact (control costs and lost productivity) of crop protection issues was well over $3 billion per year nationally, if it was not for the adoption by growers of GRDC-funded development of new crop varieties, cultural controls and treatments, yield losses could be potentially much higher.
With resistance to herbicides, insecticides and fungicides becoming an increasing problem for the grains industry, Dr Rainbow said an integrated approach to control and management was fundamental in the preservation of long-term access to useful chemical options.
The GRDC has just released a new Ground Cover magazine supplement outlining some of the emerging issues with diseases, weeds and pests and detailing the work that is being done to address these threats.
In the southern cropping region (southern New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania), emerging diseases include:
- White grain – a fungal disease that has caused serious problems in recent seasons, particularly in SA, where many loads of wheat have been downgraded or rejected at receival points. GRDC-funded research at the SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI) is unravelling how the fungus operates and investigating the best ways to manage it.
- Barley powdery mildew – its resistance to fungicides is an established issue in Western Australia and now triazole-resistant barley powdery mildew pathotypes have been found in eastern Australia. GRDC-funded research is investigating how the disease operates genetically, and is developing more effective fungicides. More resistant barley varieties are also in the pipeline.
White grain disease has caused serious problems in recent seasons. Image SARDI
Emerging weeds in the southern cropping region include:
- Flaxleaf fleabane – Australia’s first glyphosate-resistant broadleaf weed has spread from the northern cropping region on the back of increased minimum tillage and wet summers in the south. GRDC-funded research has shown that a strategic approach to integrated management can reduce its impact.
- Wild radish – an established problem in WA, herbicide-resistant wild radish is now becoming a serious threat in the southern region. GRDC-funded research is quantifying the extent of the issue and developing management systems to lower the weed’s on-farm seed bank.
Emerging pests in the southern cropping region include:
- Balaustium mites, black Portugese millipedes, European earwigs and slaters – all of which are developing into important pests of germinating crops. Research funded by GRDC is looking at why certain paddock conditions result in increased populations and the best management strategies.
- Mandalotus weevils – With GRDC support, SARDI researchers are starting to unravel the basic biology of this weevil which has emerged as a serious pest of canola. A range of management strategies combining cultural and chemical controls is to be explored.
Further information about these and other issues can be found in the Ground Cover magazine supplement Emerging Issues with Diseases, Weeds and Pests, which is included in the January-February edition of Ground Cover. The supplement can also be viewed and downloaded via www.grdc.com.au/GCS102.
Emerging issues are also covered in the latest episode (9) of Ground Cover TV, www.grdc.com.au/GCTV.
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